Gwynns Falls: It’s Probably Nothing, But. . .

This story showed up last Saturday, and kinda details what those of us that ride Gwynns Falls on a regular basis already know: the cops are gone. And, as it turns out, the trail naturalist and the other dedicated trail administrator are also being cut. So, instead of the 5, 7, or 8 cops (depending on who you ask) assigned to the trail (not at the same time, of course) there are two, which the city feels is justified because of the low rate of crime on the trail (when there were 5, 7, or 8 cops working). And trail maintenance will be kept up to current standards by regular Parks and Rec workers and inmates, according to a tepid, not-really-reassuring rebuttal to the Sun story by Parks and Rec administrator Wanda S. Durden. (I don’t know how the rash of kid gangs jumping bikers at the CSX bridge and Edmondson Ave. overpass figures into that. Nate Evans assures me the incidents are in his database.)

Maybe my getting ruffled here is an overreaction. The City promises to keep the trail safe and clean, right? But, honestly, the city was just barely keeping up on those things anyhow, and it’s hard to imagine a stretched Parks and Rec is going to somehow unstretch itself for a new assignment. I suppose the thing to do is pay close attention to what happens next, and if things start sinking anymore, raise a holy hell. That said, we should probably raise a holy hell anyhow: Gwynns Falls is an amazing thing to have right in the guts of a major city, and one of my own favorite places to go around here. The parallel dimension of crumbling road and thick woods between Windsor Mill Road and Dickeysville on the reclaimed Wetheredsville Road shouldn’t have a right to exist in Baltimore, but amazingly does. In DC, it’d be “rustic” townhouses.

Unfortunately, it strikes as one of those cynical budget cuts (timed for fall/winter) that out-of-touch administrators think won’t get noticed. And if it does get noticed, will look to most people like a trim of something that was wasteful anyhow. Which pushes me (us?) into the asshole argument of saying we should cut something else to save our pretty lil trail, and people less realistic than me into arguing that if Gwynns Falls goes downhill, people won’t want to move to Baltimore anymore for its stunning wildlands. So, maybe I don’t want to be that guy or any of those guys because, honestly, we’re getting close to siding with yuppies here. So, the point is, toughen up, get Kevlar tires and a tazer. Or write a letter to the powers that be.

I’m not seeing Durden’s rebuttal. Is it buried in the idiocy of the Sun’s comments section?

I’ll be happy to step up and join any campaign to help this trail, as I’ve seriously fallen in love with it. I’ll even side with yuppies if need be. Anyone know which powers-that-be should be written to?

WTOP News down here in DC is just as bad. Worse, actually, because half of the articles are as poorly written as the comments. Excellent commentary on your part. Did you actually send them that letter?

Both of your links above go to the original article. Was there a separate article with Durden’s response?

Johnny, we should be grateful that the Sun’s comment section is only a sewer for a local readership. The Washington Post’s comment section makes ours look like a ladies’ tea party. Every nut-job and ass-hat in America with an internet connection thinks they can change American government policy by flaming and trolling the Post’s comment threads.

Here’s an idea straight out of Crazytown. Put away the cell phone, the blackberry and the mp3 player while you ride. Be alert, stay aware of your surroundings and be respectful to everyone you meet. Quit relying on the government for your personal safety. I know this sounds like insanity but it works.

Am I missing something? Were all the attacks on people with headphones? Being respectful to everyone you meet won’t help you if whoever attacks you comes from a hiding place or from behind you. Certainly, there’s a lot of common sense involved in not becoming a victim, but you can’t blame everything on manners and headphones.

No details, really. I got, uh, “ambushed” under the bridge and have run into a couple of other people who’ve noticed stuff happening down there, and the park above the CSX bridge (which has always seemed safe to me, personally). I mentioned it to Nate, who was already aware of the problem.

I pretty much agree with Cham, but there are certainly plenty of situations in which it’s possible to be taken by surprise no matter how well you think you’re paying attention, especially along a curvy stretch of wooded trail.

I’ve read about one or possibly two attacks in which a commuter was stopped and punched in the face in a mugging attempt (I think someone posted that here?), and one or possibly two incidents in which some 8 yr old kids were throwing rocks at cyclists from the Edmondson Ave overpass.

I don’t know who Nate Evans is, but would it be possible to get more details from him about these occurrences?

Cham is an old flaming troll from way back when. I’m surprised she didn’t blame safety concerns on the trail on disgusting fat people for being gross to her, which was her old flame.

If you follow her link you’ll see she some crazy agenda about post 9/11 America that she is projecting on the trail for some reason, as though concern for safety in West Baltimore is a post 9/11 fad. Never mind that everyone was too scared to enter Leaken Park for 30 years. Never mind that our tax dollars were spent to reclaim the areas of the trail from disuse. Obviously, just be respectful, that’ll save you from a pack of bored wilding 14 year olds that have something to prove. How dare we expect some level of security within the city limits. She’s just a nut. Ignore her.

That right there shows that folks want and need a place to ride/walk/run/skate/etc. Hopefully some of the folks in charge will make the connection between that and the necessity for places like Gwynns.

Thanks for the link. I’m going to set aside my instinctive cynicism for a moment and say that that’s very encouraging. Realistically, though, I’d love to know who the best person would be to contact if I see stuff on the trail that needs to be reported.

We have to contact each other. We are the powers that be. Government is broke. No one is going to give them more money that people don’t have.

The City has a bikes and pedestrian person, Nate. He is great! But let’s face it – how many bikers are there in the City? If people want something to happen, it is up to the bikers, not the government. Believe in and do it yourself and your cynicism will go away.